Rule

A purplish-black magical energy spread, the stench grew stronger, and the howls of Aberrant Beast echoed Nest. The spider's figure was gradually shrouded in a magical mist, and the blurred figure twisted and writhed under the gaze of the two magical girls, emitting a teeth-grinding pulling sound.

The shadowy figure gradually grew taller from the size of a normal person, eventually merging with the spider- Aberrant Beast beneath it. When the smoke cleared, what appeared before the two was no longer the original man, but a ferocious monster with an upright upper body, its entire body encased in an exoskeleton.

This monster was about the same height as the previous white spider, and its original appearance could be vaguely discerned. It was unclear what its relationship with the spider was. After its transformation, it became even more monstrous and terrifying.

Gazing at the Larkspur, which was bound together with the Magic Armament in a web of flesh and blood, the monster slightly raised its head, opened its mandibles, and let out a hiss that sounded like laughter.

However, during those few short seconds of his transformation, Larkspur was not entirely inactive.

Almost at the same instant the purplish-black magic erupted, the Heart Gem at her neck, along with her eyes, began to shine, a deep blue light bursting forth from her flesh and blood. Then, in the instant she met the gaze of the Aberrant Beast, she instantly broke free from the surrounding restraints.

Suppressing the intense headache that erupted almost simultaneously, Larkspur controlled his Magic Armament and began to leap forward, shouting, "Lantern, attack!"

If the enemy willingly transforms into Aberrant Beast, then there's nothing left to argue about; it's simply a matter of life and death between the two sides.

As she spoke, a stream of deep brown magic flowed down, and the gleaming nail gun emitted a series of whooshing sounds as it pierced the monster on the ground.

"Squeak--"

The Aberrant Beast responded to the two magical girls' attack with its own roar, and purplish-black magic surged from all around, instantly clashing with the two magical girls.

After a brief roar and impact, the two magical girls retreated from the magical smoke and landed on the ground.

"Wow—it's tough!" Lantern exclaimed, shaking his hand and wincing in pain. "Its shell is several times harder than Pupa Shell's! Is Molt Stage really this strong?"

"...No." Larkspur replied indifferently, "That guy hasn't molted yet."

"Huh?" The Lantern turned its head in surprise. "That's a pupa?"

"It's not a pupa either."

Larkspur released the Masterpiece blade she had been clutching tightly in her hand, and the silk threads re-wove, revealing a weapon resembling a two-handed sword in her grasp. "To be precise, this kind of creature should be called a 'Shellbreaker,' or rather, a 'Half-Molt.'"

"That sounds like a really strange name..." the Lantern murmured.

"A true metamorphosis is something only Flower Rank cultivators can handle."

Grasping her two-handed sword, Larkspur lowered her weight and said in a low voice, "If it really was a fully-formed being, you wouldn't have had the chance to see me alive before."

"Is it that exaggerated?" Lantern said with some shock. "I thought that the Blossom Rank was already on par with the Tui level. After all, you see, a powerful Leaf Rank can usually take on a Pupa one-on-one, right?"

"The evolutionary level of Aberrant Beast is only related to its life stage, not to the magical girl's ability Blossoming."

Larkspur sighed, "Why don't you, a Blossom Rank, even know this? What kind of Certification Card do you have now?"

"White Card..."

The Lantern stammered somewhat awkwardly, "I was promoted to the Blossom Rank at the beginning of the year, but I failed the Letter Card certification exam in March..."

Larkspur glanced at her helplessly, and was about to say something when the threads made of flesh and blood suddenly burst out from the smoke and shot straight toward their location.

The two magical girls immediately regained their serious expressions, each leaping in a different direction to dodge the attack.

However, to their surprise, the silk thread that was fired seemed to have little force. After missing its target, it flew a short distance before crashing into the wall of the nearby nest with a "crack" and exploding into a bloody mess.

Almost simultaneously, the entire nest was filled with the incessant sound of "snap" and "snap".

Upon hearing these sounds, the Larkspur paused slightly, then, as if realizing something, suddenly shouted towards the Lantern: "Barrier!"

"Huh?" The Lantern responded with some surprise, but still subconsciously cast the Fawo Runes from her sleeve, and a Magic Barrier instantly formed in front of her.

This was not the end. At the same time, the Larkspur also unfurled its Magic Armament, and the silk threads once again wove into a hollow protective net, enveloping the two of them together.

Then, a violent roar caused the entire lair to shake violently.

"What are these things?" Amidst the noise, the Lantern raised its voice and asked the Larkspur.

"It's Nest."

The Larkspur stared intently at the changing space outside the Magic Armament, spitting out these words through gritted teeth. "The previous Nest belonged to that big guy who turned into a puppet; this is its own Nest now."

"Nest that transcends the pupa, doesn't that mean..."

The Lantern pondered the words of the Larkspur, and together they looked up at the sky.

After the roar, the two found themselves in a completely different space.

Unlike the previous Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau's style of bright white lighting and silver walls, the Nest now appeared completely different, presenting a scene that was almost nauseating to the two of them.

--This is a damp, dark Nest filled with all sorts of broken bones.

Everywhere they looked were corpses and limbs; even the most intense battlefields and the most brutal execution grounds could not produce such a cruel scene, which was displayed before the two of them.

A stench even more repulsive than that of the previous giant, Aberrant Beast's Nest permeated the network of Magic Armament, nearly causing the Lantern to vomit.

The Larkspur did not react at all.

Of course, she wasn't completely unaffected, but such feelings weren't the main point for her at the moment.

Her gaze swept past the surrounding skeletons, and the Larkspur's eyes were fixed on the center of the cave not far away.

In the center of the cave, a huge, Flesh Spiderweb, exactly the same as before, stretched out, with even more tumors hanging densely from Spiderweb, like a freezer full of pork in a slaughterhouse.

On that Spiderweb, there were several completely different figures.

Several girls of different shapes and clothing, but all wearing golden robes, were silently hanging there.

They were all tightly bound by the flesh-and-flesh spider silk, their bodies tied up like dumplings, hanging motionless in the center of the Spiderweb. Only the faint magical light flickering around them was enough to prove that they were not completely dead.

However, it's clear to anyone with eyes that this situation can't last much longer.

The fleshy spider silk binding them acted like pipes, drawing their magic from their bodies and continuously channeling it to the Spiderweb. With each twitch of the silk, the aura of Cat Tail and the others grew weaker.

The price of constantly draining their magic was that the figures of several magical girls began to become illusory, even somewhat transparent, indicating that their True Form had been damaged.

If this continues, it's only a matter of time before the magical girls in the investigation team perish.

"Cat Tail- sensei..." Lantern also saw this scene and subconsciously wanted to call out, but was stopped by Larkspur.

"They're still alive." Larkspur shook his head. "Don't get distracted, deal with the enemy first."

"Phew, I know." The Lantern calmed down, but it was still filled with shock and anger. "It's treating them like..."

"What they need is magic power, and magical girls of a high enough Blossoming level can produce magic power indefinitely. Given their monstrous, nonexistent moral compass, they can do such a thing."

The Larkspur lowered its arm and said in a deep voice, "Be careful. This guy's abilities are definitely more than that. Even if it's not a complete metamorphosis, its Nest has already changed after breaking through the Pupa Stage."

Although incomplete, the "Shellbreaker" stage, or Half-Molt stage, is fundamentally different from the pupa.

As the literal meaning suggests, the transformation of Aberrant Beast from a pupa to an adult is like an insect metamorphosing from a pupa to an adult, representing a huge leap in the level of life.

As for the Nest, a hallmark ability of Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, it will also undergo drastic changes after they ascend the ladder of metamorphosis.

"You mean, its Nest already has Rule?" the Lantern asked somewhat seriously.

"There's a high chance it will happen, just like our Wonderland."

The Larkspur looked around, searching for any traces related to the enemy's abilities. "You'd better unleash your own Wonderland now, otherwise this Nest only has its own Rule, which will be very disadvantageous for us."

The so-called "Rule" are a special application of the power of the soul.

Whether it's a Wonderland girl whose abilities Blossoming to the Blossom Rank and awakened a wondrous realm, or Aberrant Beast has evolved beyond the Pupa Stage and touched the ladder of metamorphosis, as their souls grow stronger and the power of their thoughts and wills gradually manifests, they form the ability known as Rule.

This Rule only applies in the magical girl's Wonderland or the Nest of Aberrant Beast.

Because they originate from the soul and will, the abilities manifested by the Rule are naturally diverse and varied, but they are often related to the Magic Armament of magical girls.

After all, the power of the Magic Armament comes from its True Form True Form, which contains a soul. The Magic Armament is inextricably linked to the rules of the Wonderland Rule.

Larkspur once saw a magical girl whose Magic Armament was a stopwatch. The Rule of the Wonderland were a game of "Red Light, Green Light," and these Rule worked in conjunction with the Magic Armament. Whenever the stopwatch stopped ticking, everyone in the Wonderland, including the magical girl herself, had to stop moving, or their limbs would age rapidly. If the Rule were broken too many times, the limbs might simply decay into dust.

As the master of this Wonderland, the magical girl's greatest advantage is that she knows when the stopwatch will stop. Therefore, she can move freely while her Magic Armament is functioning normally.

Correspondingly, an enemy who doesn't know when the stopwatch will stop can only remain as still as possible, not daring to even breathe, unless they are desperate and dare not move their body at all. Naturally, they will be at a huge disadvantage in the battle against her.

The power of Rule lies in this: as long as the strength of one's soul and will is not much weaker than that of the enemy, then within one's own Wonderland, the enemy must abide by the Rule, or they will pay an extremely terrible price.

However, after the Larkspur offered her suggestion, the Lantern beside her suddenly fell silent.

This puzzled Larkspur, who couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Can't you use the Wonderland right now?"

"No, it's not that." The Lantern raised its head slightly, and said with some helplessness, "It's just that my Wonderland might not be convenient to use here."

"I know, I won't question your Wonderland Rule." Larkspur stopped and looked at her. "You just need to tell me what to do and when."

She could understand a magical girl's reluctance to reveal the Rule of her Wonderland. After all, the greatest power of Rule lies in the information gap; when the enemy is unaware of the Rule destructive power is at its greatest.

A Rule known to the enemy will greatly reduce its threat level, no matter how severe the consequences of violating it may be.

However, after hearing her words, Lantern still shook his head. "It's not that matter. I don't actually mind others knowing my Rule, it's just..."

"Just?" Larkspur raised an eyebrow.

"The Rule of my Wonderland are beyond my own control," the Lantern replied awkwardly. "I often get injured while practicing using Wonderland, so..."

Before she could finish speaking, the Aberrant Beast attacked again.

Sharp, spear-like spider claws shot out from the darkness, striking at the Larkspur's Magic Armament. Although they did not shatter it, they easily carved a hole in it.

After the spider claws pierced the inside of the Magic Armament, several strands of fleshy spider silk stretched in through the holes and quickly pounced on the Larkspur's head.

The Larkspur had never let its guard down, so it reacted the instant the attack began, raising its hand and conjuring another barrier to block the spider silk attack.

"Then we'll use it when the time is right, trying to impact the enemy in one go."

Even in the midst of close combat, she didn't forget to speak, and then, wielding the Magic Armament that had transformed into Masterpiece blade, she slashed at the spider claw that was stabbing at her.

Sizzle!

A teeth-grinding scraping sound rang out as the blade struck the spider's claws, and sparks could even be faintly seen reflecting off them.

Undeterred by its failed attack, the Larkspur remained calm and composed, its mind clear as a mirror. It used its magic to perform several aerial maneuvers, flying from the spider's claws to the Aberrant Beast's upper body.

Desiring to unleash Magic Armament powerful attack on her enemy at close range, Larkspur wrapped her Masterpiece around her hands, transforming it into giant gauntlets.

However, just as she was about to throw a punch, she found that her elbow wouldn't bend at all.

She glanced at her arm and saw that a string of spider silk had appeared there, wrapped around her joint and locking it firmly in place.

--Rule.

The two words resurfaced in her mind, but before the Larkspur could make any further move, the spider's claws slashed down from below.

A friend asked me to recommend a book: <The Savior Has Split at the Fork>: an awkward book that makes you want to complain but for some reason, and has nothing else to say about it (according to the author).

< From the Clear-Minded from the Execution Platform>

A level-up story with a Water Margin-style protagonist, featuring decisive and ruthless actions. Those interested can check it out.