Magical Girl Little Brocade

When Larkspur arrived at the scene, the area where the Aberrant Beast was located had already been sealed off. Citizens who had originally planned to pass through were evacuated, while ordinary people within the area were led out by official personnel.

Because it was noon and the Aberrant Beast had appeared at an intersection, very few civilians had been harmed at the outset. Most had managed to flee in time, so the crowd at the scene remained relatively calm, with no unrest breaking out.

Larkspur did not linger by the blockade for long. After confirming that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau was taking action, she kicked off the ground and shot out through a gap between nearby buildings, flying toward the Aberrant Beast's location at the center of the area.

Yet when she arrived, she found that she was the only one there.

That made sense, though. Flying at full speed, she was surely faster than the other two, and she had not been far from the scene to begin with. Setting off at the same time, it was only natural for her to arrive first.

"Its form hasn't stabilized yet. Just a little Egg Rank creature, then."

Landing by the roadside, Larkspur looked at the Aberrant Beast, which resembled a massive egg-shaped lump of flesh. Unable to find prey, it was flying into a rage and wantonly demolishing the surrounding buildings. She raised a hand, and the wand she had been holding floated into the air.

"Magic Construct Extraction."

As her words fell, the wand dissolved into scattered particles of fading light. A small, ornate pair of Tailor's Scissors appeared in Larkspur's hand, while azure mana particles gathered around her. Coldly gleaming threads wound around her body, giving off a faintly dangerous aura.

In Larkspur's vision, the surrounding space had long been filled with blue mana threads. The Aberrant Beast at the center of the area was like prey caught in a spiderweb—there was no escape.

She extended her hand, resting her thumb and ring finger against two separate threads, then slowly curled both fingers in the same direction.

As she drew the threads, the web of mana lines around the Aberrant Beast tightened as well. In scarcely the time of a breath, its room to move had been completely restricted. Soon after, it was thoroughly bound in place by the threads.

The Aberrant Beast, sensing its movements being restricted, did not realize it had been captured. Even though its body could no longer move, it continued struggling futilely and let out earthshaking roars, attempting to intimidate Larkspur in the distance.

The gusts stirred by its roar whipped up a fierce wind, fluttering Larkspur's clothes even from more than ten meters away. At that distance, she could still smell the thick stench of blood.

Larkspur remained expressionless.

Under normal circumstances, once she had restrained an Aberrant Beast, she would have moved in and killed it immediately.

But this time was different. She merely bound the Aberrant Beast, then stood by the roadside with one hand on her hip as if she had already finished her task, quietly waiting.

She was waiting for Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang.

Both were rookie Magical Girls who needed enough real combat to build experience. An Egg Rank Aberrant Beast like this was undoubtedly an excellent punching bag. For one, it moved slowly; for another, its attacks were not particularly lethal to Magical Girls. Even if something unexpected happened, there would be no serious problem with Larkspur protecting them nearby.

Therefore, she did not intend to kill the Aberrant Beast herself. She had only stopped it from damaging public buildings, intending to let the two newcomers use it for practice.

Before long, accompanied by a pale violet rainbow streak, a figure rapidly flew over from the horizon.

The purple streak plunged directly toward the Aberrant Beast and Larkspur. After landing at tremendous speed, however, it sent ripples of violet mana spreading outward as though it had struck the surface of water.

The newcomer straightened from the shimmering waves, shook her head, smoothed the hair stuck against her cheeks, and then looked toward Larkspur with a smile.

"Ah, I'm here! Using Mana Breakfall really is fast, Little Senior!"

"The 'little' is unnecessary." Larkspur lowered her eyelids.

The newcomer was Xia Liang.

She wore a fitted Hibiscus Purple western-style half-skirt dress with wavy lace, a separate pale yellow cape-collared blouse, and a half-buttoned vest in similarly light purple tones. Together with the large bow at her chest, her transformed outfit gave off an air of mystery and brightness.

Her hair had likewise turned purple, curling slightly at the ends into inward curls that seemed to defy gravity. On her head sat a soft Hibiscus Purple hat wrapped with a yellow ribbon, while crescent-shaped earrings hung from her earlobes, making her appear rather glamorous and fashionable.

This was Xia Liang's appearance after transforming into a Magical Girl, and it suited her Magical Girl codename—Magical Girl Little Brocade—very well.

A Magical Girl's attire reflected the personality of her transformed self, so Xia Liang's clothes had the most mature style of the three, even though she was actually the youngest by age.

Looking at the girl who had landed, Larkspur's expression remained calm, but inwardly, she could not help clicking her tongue in amazement.

When she had first found Xia Liang, she had already sensed that the girl's talent might be extraordinary. Yet the level Xia Liang had displayed now still exceeded her expectations.

The "Mana Breakfall" Xia Liang mentioned was a technique Larkspur had only introduced during yesterday's lesson. It allowed a Magical Girl to land after flying without slowing down at all, completing the landing directly at maximum speed.

Only a few days ago, Xia Liang had still been afraid of flying. Yet she had quickly adapted to flying with mana and even gone a step further, mastering an advanced technique. In just a few days, her progress had surpassed Lin Xiaolu's. Xia Liang was a born Magical Girl.

"You mastered the breakfall so quickly. Well done." Larkspur was therefore not stingy with her praise.

"Hehe."

Receiving the praise, Xia Liang happily narrowed her eyes. She trotted over to Larkspur's side, looked at the bound Aberrant Beast in the distance, and asked with a touch of wonder in her voice, "Is that the Aberrant Beast?"

"Whoa—so this is what it looks like up close. It's huge, and so gross!"

Although she said it was "gross," her face was full of curiosity. "But why isn't it moving? Did you take it out, Little Senior?"

"I told you, don't add that 'little.'"

Larkspur corrected her somewhat helplessly, though she did not press the matter. With a light flick of her finger through the air, several blue mana threads appeared in sequence. "Be careful. That Aberrant Beast is still alive. It isn't moving because I've already tied it up."

Xia Liang's attention was immediately drawn to the mana threads. She widened her eyes and leaned closer. "So pretty! Is this the Magic Construct you mentioned, Little Senior? Are these guitar strings?"

"My Magic Construct is made of threads and scissors."

Larkspur did not hide it from her. "Don't get too close. These threads can restrain enemies, but they can also become very sharp. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"Are you worried about me?"

Her smile carried a hint of teasing, but Xia Liang obediently stepped back two paces. She seemed to be in high spirits. "You look so aloof, but you're actually quite delicate inside, Little Senior."

"Don't say things that mushy for no reason." Larkspur remained expressionless.

"You two over there! You've only known each other for a few days, so don't act so close behind someone else's back!"

Just as the two were talking, a shout suddenly came from the air. Larkspur and Xia Liang looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a pale blue rainbow streak descending from the sky.

Nearly ten minutes had passed since Larkspur subdued the Aberrant Beast. Lin Xiaolu had finally arrived.