An Overly Simple Battle

Before Lin Yun could make any further move, the blonde girl suddenly pulled herself out of the trash can, her body covered in dirt and unidentified water stains, and raised her head with her lips pursed.

She didn't speak, but the look in her eyes as she gazed at Lin Yun seemed to say everything.

Lin Yun looked at her and couldn't help but take two steps back.

Why are we backing away?

The girl's face was pale, but she still approached Lin Yun step by step, hesitantly. "Are you feeling guilty?"

"I have no reason to feel guilty."

Lin Yun gestured for her to stop. "Let's stop for now, okay?"

"Just because you tell me to stop, does that mean I have to obey you?"

The girl subconsciously raised the corners of her mouth, wanting to laugh, but then realized the meaning behind Lin Yun's words and couldn't bring herself to say the second half of her sentence.

She frowned, raised her hand to her nose, and sniffed. Then, as if she had smelled something, she stuck out her tongue like a cat repelled by a foul odor, closed her eyes as if greatly disturbed, and shook her head frantically.

However, this did not free her from the influence of that smell. She couldn't help but squat down again, open her mouth, and dry heave for a long time before standing up again, her face showing palpitations and a sense of helplessness.

Are you alright?

Seeing her like this, Lin Yun couldn't help but ask, "How about we stop now and find a place to wash up?"

"Don't want."

The blonde girl raised her hand, trying to dry her face, but the water dripping down her forehead made her turn pale. She then puffed out her cheeks, looking like she was about to vomit. "I'm a magical girl! This mere trash and dirty water can't possibly affect me! As long as I deactivate my transformation, even my injuries will heal. This mere filth..."

"It's very dirty."

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Yun earnestly corrected her, "It's best to wash it off quickly, otherwise the smell won't be pleasant."

He wasn't trying to change the subject or deliberately provoke the other person; in fact, what he said was the truth.

While magical girls can avoid damage in their transformed state, and no matter what kind of injury they suffer, as long as it doesn't harm their True Form, it won't affect their main body, the dirt that gets on their body surface is a different story.

Because the stains are not part of the magical girl's body, they will remain even after the transformation ends and she reverts to her original form.

This is common knowledge for most magical girls.

Lin Yun's words made the blonde girl freeze for a moment. She clearly realized the problem and stared blankly for a while before a strange smile gradually appeared on her face, a smile that seemed to carry a hint of collapse.

If Lin Yun wasn't mistaken, there was a faint glint of tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Guh--Hahahaha! So what!"

Trying to make her laughter sound nonchalant, the girl shouted, "You think this will demoralize me or shake my resolve? Let me tell you, it's impossible! Don't even think about it!"

"Retreat now? Go back and find a place to take a shower? I won't!"

Without waiting for Lin Yun to explain further, she began to gather her magic power, her right hand forming a fist that had appeared out of thin air, and grasped the wand in her hand. "I will definitely catch you here!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lin Yun maintained her persona, retorting just as righteously, "Finally, I'm warning you, don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll definitely report you, this derelict magical girl, to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau!"

"I've already said, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has no jurisdiction over me!"

The girl shouted loudly, raising her hand and shooting a Mana Beam towards Lin Yun.

The Mana Beam came very suddenly, but fortunately Lin Yun was prepared and dodged the attack by sidestepping to the side.

But after he dodged the attack, he realized that he had done something unnecessary.

Perhaps considering that he might not be an enemy of the level of an Aberrant Beast, the blonde girl's Mana Beam didn't actually exert much force. Even though it didn't hit Lin Yun, it only scraped a black mark on the ground not far away.

If Lin Yun had actually taken such a hit, it would have confirmed his identity as an ordinary person; but now it was too late, and his subconscious instinct when attacked made him choose to dodge.

In this way, even if the blonde girl on the other side is slow-witted, she will notice the inconsistency.

"Hmph, an ordinary person? They think they can dodge a magical girl's attack?"

The blonde girl grinned and said, "I knew it! The magical fluctuations just now were so clear, how could it be my imagination? You old man who looks like a bad guy were lying to me after all!"

"Do I look like a bad guy?" Her other inferences were correct, but her last sentence surprised Lin Yun.

"Someone like you, who looks so clean-cut, serious, and cold, is most likely a pervert in private! You're the epitome of a refined beast!"

Pointing a finger at Lin Yun, the blonde girl, as if a detective who had solved a difficult case, loudly proclaimed, "You've already given yourself away. Now, surrender!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand and unleashed several more Mana Beam.

The two chased each other through the alley. Lin Yun used the various cover around him to evade the blonde girl's pursuit, while once again reaching for his chest, contemplating whether to reveal his identity to her.

This period of contemplation ultimately delayed his actions, causing a Mana Beam to graz his sleeve, tearing up a piece of fabric.

"Hahaha, how could an ordinary Mage possibly dodge my attack!"

The attack failed repeatedly, and the blonde girl, who had finally succeeded, laughed hysterically, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob. "Watch me wipe you out right here, so no one will know what happened here!"

Shouting lines that were utterly devoid of any magical girl demeanor and sounded more like those of a villain, the girl raised her hand, magic gradually gathering at the tip of her wand. "One shot from now on will decide the outcome!"

What she said was true, because Lin Yun could sense that the magic she used this time was on a completely different level than before, exceeding the limits that ordinary people could use.

It seems that things have reached a point where there is no way to resolve them.

Since the other party is getting serious, I have no choice but to transform.

Lin Yun thought to himself, and with a touch of helplessness, he activated the magic of the Flower of the Heart in his chest. Azure magic surged forth from it, and magical threads coiled upwards from the soles of his feet.

Almost at the same time he activated his magic, the blonde girl in front of him encountered another unexpected event.

After uttering her harsh words, she stepped onto a slightly slippery patch of ground, then inexplicably slipped and fell backward to the ground.

If it were just a fall, that would be one thing, but what's even stranger is that as she sat down on the ground, the Mana Beam at the tip of her wand flew out of her hand and shot straight into the sky.

The pale yellow trail of magic illuminated the dark alleyway, as dazzling as fireworks.

"You..."

Staring blankly at the trajectory left by her misfired Mana Beam, the girl lowered her head again, wanting to argue further, but then a muffled sound came from the sky.

Thump!

She had only uttered one word when a metal pipe, seemingly detached from somewhere, suddenly fell from the sky, smashing into the blonde girl's head and knocking her to the ground.

Then, she fell silent.

Only the newly transformed Larkspur remained, one hand clutching the Heart Gem on her neck, staring at the girl lying silently on the ground, momentarily at a loss for words.

Although the situation was somewhat awkward and stiff at first, she felt she should still go and take a look.

Walking over to the blonde girl, she saw her lying on the ground with her eyes closed. Larkspur couldn't help but reach out and check her breath. Finding the blonde was still breathing, she gently nudged her arm and asked, "Are you alright?"

This question did not receive a corresponding answer.

Upon hearing the Larkspur's voice, the blonde girl slightly opened her eyes, but remained silent, simply gazing at the Larkspur for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes again and completely lost consciousness.

As the girl lost consciousness, her clumsy manipulation of magic became unsustainable, and her transformation ended. When the light faded, what remained was no longer a magical girl, but a girl who looked only about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a school uniform.

Judging from her appearance alone, the girl is not much different from when she became a magical girl. She is obviously a novice who has not been at the Blossoming-Bud Tier for long, which is very consistent with the level she has shown.

Looking helplessly at the girl lying on the ground, Larkspur wanted to help her up, but suddenly realized that there was still dirt on her body from the trash can. For a moment, her outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

She stood there for a while, thinking about what to do with the girl on the ground, and finally decided not to interfere too much and just hand her over to her teammates.

According to the blonde girl's previous description, there were three magical girls on this trip. The other two are currently fighting Aberrant Beast, and if all goes well, they will return to find her after the battle.

With an idea in mind, the Larkspur turned around, walked out of the alley, and headed towards the neighborhood where the Aberrant Beast were causing trouble.

Since the blonde girl didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, it would be best to go check on the Aberrant Beast, just to be on the safe side, in case her two teammates were as unreliable as she was and something unexpected happened during the hunt.

As the Larkspur pondered this, it returned to the spot where it had previously encountered the Aberrant Beast and discovered that a fierce battle was indeed taking place in that direction.

Pale red and cyan magical light swirled around the Aberrant Beast, colliding with its skin and sparking bursts of sparks and deafening roars. Before long, as the Aberrant Beast could no longer withstand the two magical attacks, the red and cyan light split into two intersecting flashes, passing through its chest and tearing the still-roaring Aberrant Beast in two.

The rampaging Aberrant Beast was easily dealt with.

The sharp-eyed Larkspur immediately spotted the figure of the girl within the blue magical trajectory, holding a weapon that didn't resemble a magic wand at all.

It's Magic Armament.

Having understood, Larkspur couldn't help but glance again at the alleyway not far away.

The blonde girl's teammates could deal with the Aberrant Beast so easily and skillfully, but the blonde girl herself was flustered and made mistakes when facing an ordinary person, and even smashed herself to cancel her transformation. The difference between the two was too great.

Since this is how things ended, and the blonde girl doesn't seem to have discovered the truth about her identity, there's no need for me to stay here any longer as Larkspur.

After deciding on her next move, Larkspur went back into the alley, lifted the blonde girl out, and made her sit against the wall at the alley entrance.

She had to make sure the child's teammates could see her when they returned, lest she really lie lying in the depths of a dark alley, unattended.

After doing all that, she used the darkness in the alley to undo her transformation and, following the path she had come from, climbed back into the convenience store's warehouse through the window.

When Lin Yun washed his hands, picked up his bag, and walked calmly out of the convenience store, he saw that the spot where the Aberrant Beast had attacked was now empty.

Clearly, the group of magical girls had already left.

Blending into the crowd and pretending to be an ordinary tourist, Lin Yun passed by the spot where she had left the blonde girl. Looking into the alley, she saw a girl with light red hair and a short skirt, and a girl with blue hair and a cloak, standing around the blonde girl, their faces showing some helplessness, seemingly exchanging something.

After talking for a while, the two seemed to have reached a consensus. The blue-haired magical girl, with a look of disdain, hoisted the blonde girl onto her shoulder, and the two of them slowly rose into the air and flew into the sky.

Many people then realized that the magical girl had just been in the alleyway nearby, and they quickly took out their phones to snap photos of the magical trail left in the air.

Amidst the noisy crowd, Lin Yun watched their figures gradually disappear into the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he were pondering something.