The Origin of Claw Mark

"Long, long ago, when the world was first created, before the True Source was born, before life appeared, and before magic was distinguished, the concept of 'world' was even observed, and endless chaos nurtured and conceived it like an infant..."

A few minutes later, in the research institute that had resumed operation, Emerald's voice drifted out from the Fairy Doll's mouth. The slightly distorted electronic voice seemed to have been processed, giving Emerald's originally somewhat languid voice a touch of depth.

The Larkspur, sitting beside the treatment bed, remained silent at first, arms crossed, glancing sideways at it. But after several minutes, realizing that the other party still hadn't gotten to the point, it lowered its eyes and spoke:

"May I leave now?"

"Wait, why are we leaving again? Why can't you young people have the patience to listen to your elders tell you some stories?"

The forced serious atmosphere in the research institute immediately deflated. Emerald said somewhat discontentedly, "What follows is Kingdom secret completely unknown to the outside world. Even someone of my status would take risks if I revealed it myself. Don't you think you should be fully prepared and knowledgeable before accepting this gift?"

"... All I know is that I'm in control."

Larkspur, holding onto the edge of the bed, said, "I was tricked into coming here from my job by you with some ridiculous excuse, and now I really don't want to wait any longer."

"Hmm... that makes sense. Well then, let's get straight to the point."

Emerald, somewhat reluctantly, stopped the original topic and started a new one. "You should still remember the Great Beast Calamity nineteen years ago, right? The 'Beast Source' in your possession suddenly surged in number during that Great Beast Calamity."

"A surge?" Larkspur keenly spotted the key word in the sentence.

"Yes, a surge, not an emergence. In fact, this crystal has existed for a long time, but there was only one at that time, which was discovered from the Interrealm and then kept in the Royal Court Treasury of the Kingdom."

The doll nodded, emphasizing the word the Larkspur had grasped. "And after the Great Beast Calamity, as many as five Beast Source were unearthed from the Material Realm, bringing the total to six."

"Unfortunately, because the Kingdom was unaware of the emergence of this substance during the Great Beast Calamity, and because the main force of the magical girls was almost entirely deployed to the front lines, three of these newly born Beast Source were stolen by rebels from the Interrealm."

It reached out and brought up the control screen of the treatment bed once again. "And as you know, relying on the existence of these three Beast Source, they established an organization called 'Black Ash Dawn,' and have been active in the Material Realm ever since."

This is consistent with the information that Larkspur had previously obtained from Moss.

Although, according to Moss, the predecessor of Black Ash Dawn was Mage from the Material Realm, and there were no people from the "Interrealm mentioned by Emerald, its true rise to power ultimately relied on the " Beast Source ".

"A total of 5 were taken, 3 of which were taken by the Black Ash Dawn. That means your Kingdom also obtained 2?"

After confirming the consistency of the information, Larkspur continued, "Adding to what you said, the initial one, the Kingdom should have possessed three Beast Source by now."

"What do you mean by 'your Kingdom '? Young man, don't make me emphasize the importance of unity; it should be 'our Kingdom '!"

The doll, hands on its hips, said, "But you're right. Our Kingdom did indeed acquire three Beast Source after the Great Beast Calamity, and they are all kept in the Royal Court Treasury. The Finance Institute is the main force responsible for guarding the treasury."

"So?"

Instead of arguing pointlessly, the Larkspur continued, "Since the Kingdom possesses the Beast Source, why are you so determined to obtain mine? Why not just apply to the Royal Court directly? If the Research Institute wants to study it, the Royal Court shouldn't refuse."

"I thought the same way you did back then, young man. But alas, life is unpredictable." Emerald sighed deeply.

"The Royal Court did not approve your application?" Larkspur asked, puzzled.

"My plan to bribe the Finance Institute to get all three Beast Source has been exposed." The doll spread its paws.

"We usually call this kind of thing 'deserved punishment'," Larkspur said coldly.

"Academic research is always a solitary journey; those who are young, conformist, and bound by Rule find it difficult to freely develop their talents."

The doll shook its head. "But in any case, because of this matter, His Majesty has forbidden me from conducting research on the Beast Source."

"Of course, everyone knows that Her Majesty's moods are always temporary, and time will change everything. Even if she chose to ban my research at the time, after a few years, such a ban would only exist in name only."

"Furthermore, I had other research projects at the time, so I naturally put this matter out of my mind, planning to secretly carry it out in ten years. But as it turned out, my plan fell through just two years later."

"Your research on the Beast Source has been completely banned?" Larkspur asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"I strongly protest and criticize your repeated defamation of me, young man."

Emerald somewhat discontentedly, "During those two years, I didn't think about the Beast Source at all. I just asked some people to sneak into the Finance Institute from the outside to see if they could get into the guard positions of the Royal Court Treasury. But none of my people got in, and the Beast Source in the treasury were stolen, and two of them were stolen at once."

"Stolen?"

The word surprised Larkspur slightly. "Royal Court?"

"I know what you're trying to say. The Royal Court has the strictest censorship and security in the Kingdom, as well as the most advanced defense Spell Formula and countless self-defense agencies. Some of those Spell Formulas were even personally set up by me. It's impossible for any thief in the world to successfully break in there."

Emerald picked up the thread. "However, while the probability of the Royal Court being stolen is very small, it's not impossible. If someone like me, who knows the Royal Court well enough, were to devise a theft plan, I would have at least three options to steal the Beast Source without alerting anyone else... Why are you looking at me like that? Use your brain and think it through, young man. Do I need to do such petty theft?"

"Who exactly said they would send someone to infiltrate the guards?" Larkspur squinted.

"I want to make it clear to you that these two things are different in nature. Although I sent someone, I did not explicitly intend to steal. You cannot convict someone who had no subjective intent and no actual action."

Whether it was a misperception or not, a faint clicking sound seemed to come from the doll's vocal cords, "But, in the end, someone beat me to it... and took away the Beast Source."

"You just said it was impossible for anyone to successfully infiltrate the Royal Court."

"I have no intention of going back on what I said earlier. Young man, of course no one will succeed in infiltrating the Royal Court."

The doll's voice carried a different meaning. "Because the truth of this matter is that it was an inside job."

"... the Finance Institute?"

"That's right."

"Who?"

"That's why this matter can't be discussed with outsiders, young man."

The doll slightly raised its head, its deep eyes looking at the Larkspur: "Can you promise not to tell anyone after you hear the answer?"

When it asked that question, the Larkspur clearly sensed that the atmosphere in the research institute had become much more tense.

It wasn't a false atmosphere created by the other party using various conversational techniques and lighting; rather, it was a real, heavy atmosphere created by the pressure exerted by the other party.

Emerald is serious.

The Larkspur realized this.

"... I don't have any other people I can disclose information to at the moment."

So she slowly said, "If there ever comes a day when I absolutely have to tell someone, I will let you know in advance."

The doll nodded.

"It's Purple Diamond."

It stated, "The Purple Diamond has taken two Beast Source and defected from the Kingdom."

"Purple... diamond?"

The Larkspur certainly knew the meaning behind the name.

The Gem Scepter of the Magic Kingdom is named after all the gems on the Queen's scepter: Chrysoberyl Cat's Eye cat's eye (corresponding to cat's eye stone); Pigeon Blood (corresponding to ruby); Emerald (corresponding to emerald); cornflower blue Cornflower (corresponding to Sapphire); and Purple Diamond (corresponding to Diamond).

Purple Diamond, also known as the Diamond Gem Scepter, is a magical girl who governs the Kingdom Finance Institute.

When Larkspur learned of this answer, his first reaction was: Emerald is joking.

Because it sounds so absurd— the Gem Scepter betraying the emperor would be a huge joke if the outside world found out.

This is no different from a company CEO betraying the company, or the director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau personally betraying the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau... While using such an example as an analogy, it doesn't seem entirely impossible. However, the relationship between the Gem Scepter and the Magic Kingdom is far closer than the former.

Besides that, what's strange is that the betrayal of the Gem Scepter and the absence of the Diamond Throne should be considered a momentous event in the Magic Kingdom, so why had she never heard of it from any source?

Considering the timeline, she should have already retired by then, so it's understandable that she was unaware of this. But the rest of the Fangting City Squad were still fighting on the front lines. Why didn't they know about this?

Returning to the present day, more than a decade later, the resurrected Larkspur has met quite a few magical girls and Fairy, yet he has never heard of any "Diamond shortage" from them.

"This matter is known only to the Royal Court, the Gem Scepter, and a few magical girls at the core of the Finance Institute's power structure."

Seemingly sensing the Larkspur's confusion, the doll calmly explained, "To fill the vacancy of the Diamond position, His Majesty has made an exception and ordered a new Diamond to be temporarily appointed outside the palace. However, this is being kept secret for now, and the inauguration ceremony will be held during the next Grand Celebration."

"So... the Gem Scepter just betrayed us like that? And nobody's doing anything about it?"

This answer clearly did not completely dispel Larkspur's doubts. She first questioned it, and then inexplicably fell into deep thought. She suddenly recalled: what exactly was the Emerald trying to say after laying so much groundwork?

--It's "Claw Mark".

"You mean, 'Claw Mark'?" she murmured, realizing the thought.

"It seems you've figured it out yourself. Yes, that's exactly it."

Emerald sighed, "The so-called Claw Mark are the organization established by the former Gem Scepter Purple Diamond after it stole the Beast Source and rebelled against the Kingdom, in order to evade capture."

"The Purple Diamond, who fled the Kingdom, took with her a considerable number of magical girls willing to follow her, including quite a few Flower Card). After escaping to the Material Realm, these magical girls established some kind of cooperative relationship with Black Ash Dawn, and after several years of silence, they began their activities in their current form."

"Magical girls who have incorporated Claw Mark would normally experience a decline in magical power after their term expires. To address this, they have chosen the power of Aberrant Beast as an alternative."

"The magical girls of Claw Mark have all abandoned their past codenames, seemingly adopting the names of birds and beasts as their new codenames. Their leader, the one who betrayed them, Purple Diamond, has also abandoned her title as a gem and taken on a new codename: White Wolf."

"That's how the Claw Mark came about."

The doll's paw gently pressed against the edge of the bed. "This is why I started searching for the Beast Source, and why I want to begin researching it again."

"... To deal with the Claw Mark?" the Larkspur, looking at it.

"That's the surface-level explanation, but the deeper reason is that I don't allow magical girls to possess technologies that I haven't mastered."

Emerald's voice remained languid, but when she spoke these words, her tone was unwavering. "The magical power of magical girls and the magical power of Aberrant Beast are mutually exclusive; more precisely, they are in a relationship of antagonism and erosion."

"The magical girl's magic will repel and hinder the magic of the Aberrant Beast; the Aberrant Beast's magic, in turn, will devour and assimilate the magical girl's magic. The result of these two types of magic being together is that they are incompatible, with no possibility of coexistence whatsoever."

"Why did the White Wolf steal the Beast Source? And after stealing the Beast Source from the Kingdom, why did she develop the technology to allow magical girls to wield the magic of beasts in just a few years? Clearly, she obtained something from the Beast Source."

"I don't mean to boast, but my academic research ability is undoubtedly superior to that of a brute like her. If she can learn and master a skill, there's no reason why I can't."

"Then, the difference between her and me is clearly the Beast Source."

"Her technology must be based on the Beast Source, and in those magical girls with Claw Mark, I saw an unprecedented phenomenon: they became some kind of 'Artificial Offsetter'."

"They were originally magical girls, but their Magic Base Color has shifted towards that of Aberrant Beast. In other words, they have all become beings with dual powers and identities."

The doll paused slightly at this point, then changed the subject:

"And that's why I'm telling you about that child."

Upon noticing the shift in Emerald's words, Larkspur was initially taken aback, then began to ponder its meaning. After a moment, she realized something:

"... Bo Xue?"

From the Emerald's description of the Claw Mark, she did indeed sense a slight familiarity: for she had heard a similar theory not long ago.

Without needing to recall, she immediately remembered that this was the description of Bai Jingxuan she had given on the way here.

Emerald had said that Bai Jingxuan's Magic Base Color nature was inherently beast-like; if she hadn't been chosen as a magical girl, she could be considered a born "Beast Shifter." However, she took a different path during the attack on the orphanage and, by chance, became a magical girl.

So, did things end there after she became a magical girl?

Obviously, the answer is no.

"She was a born Beast Shifter, and after becoming a magical girl, she was born with 'Claw Mark'."

Emerald read in a soft but calm voice, as if issuing a verdict:

"A true 'Claw Mark' that is purer, more complete, and closer to the complete form than even the White Wolf."