Awakening

"I... I don't believe what you're saying."

After a brief moment of shock, Bai Jingxuan instinctively retorted, "You are enemies, you are bad people, and bad people always lie. My parents are ordinary people; they couldn't possibly have any contact with you."

However, even she herself didn't realize that although she was verbally refuting, the strength of her struggle had clearly diminished.

"You seem to be quite bothered by this? Fine, if knowing your background will make you give up your futile resistance, I can waste a little of my time."

Bing Bee Seven looked at Bai Jingxuan, his expression calm as he lowered his voice. "After all, I don't want to bring a half-dead Beast Child to see the leader. He will blame me for harming his important experimental subject."

"Your 'father' is a short, slightly overweight man who has a smoking habit; your 'mother' is a woman with a scar on her eyebrow who claims to work in the medical field."

"They brought you to Fangting City seven years ago, settled here, and have never taken you away. They told you that your condition is a congenital disease that hospitals cannot cure. So they just take you to the hospital for so-called checkups every year, even though they know it's pointless."

"They gave you your current name, but actually your 'parents' don't have the surname 'Bai'. The reason they used 'Bai' as your surname is because the force that helped you escape was called 'Claw Mark.' And the leader of Claw Mark's code name begins with 'Bai.'"

"Your surname was chosen to express your gratitude for Claw Mark's help."

"From the very beginning, the so-called 'kinship' in your memories never existed. You were merely insurance for them to avoid deadly pursuit during their escape. After they fled the organization, they took on the obligation of raising you because they didn't want to be exposed."

The Bing Bee Seven said coldly, "Of course, they didn't know, and that's precisely why they died."

Bai Jingxuan, slightly out of breath, slowly widened her eyes. "Was that attack orchestrated by you? Did you kill them?"

"No, even the leader couldn't precisely control the Aberrant Beast from half a state away, let alone at that time we had no idea you were in Fangting City."

Bing Bee Seven shook his head. "Their deaths actually have nothing to do with us; they only have themselves to blame."

"Who was that? Who was controlling those Aberrant Beasts from back then?" Bai Jingxuan murmured.

Bing Bee Seven looked calmly at Bai Jingxuan.

"It's you." He uttered those two words.

"You're talking nonsense! How could I possibly do such a thing!" Bai Jingxuan struggled again, glaring at the man in front of her. "How could I possibly do such a thing!"

"You don't need to have any wishes, because to ordinary Aberrant Beast, the Beast Child are superiors, born kings."

Bing Bee Seven grabbed her hair and forcefully slammed Bai Jingxuan's head against the wall. "I don't know exactly what happened back then, but for an Aberrant Beast to be able to precisely infiltrate the room and even accurately kill the humans around you, there's only one possibility."

"It wants to see you, and once it sees you, it wants to eat you and take your place."

"Unfortunately, your so-called 'parents' were just ordinary researchers. They were unaware of this secret information and believed that your magic was hidden within your body and could not be seen by outsiders. This already sealed their fate."

"As long as they're around you, it's only a matter of time before they encounter Aberrant Beast and die as a result of your actions."

"Monsters cannot be accepted into this society, nor can they live like ordinary people. From the moment you were chosen as the Beast Child, being with beasts is your only choice for life. So, stop playing this pointless game with these pigs and come with me."

He loosened his grip slightly, throwing the girl to the ground. "This is the last time I'm giving you a choice. Next time, I won't force myself to bring a whole Beast Child back."

After saying this, he looked down at Bai Jingxuan, who was lying on the ground, and quietly waited for her choice.

Bai Jingxuan lay there motionless for a long time. It wasn't until Bing Bee Seven began to get impatient that she finally moved.

She reached out, propped herself up, and slowly sat up on the ground.

"... I am a magical girl."

In a slightly hoarse voice, she said, "Magical girls are supposed to protect and save everyone. I'm going to fight you, and then... kill you."

Her words left Bing Bee Seven speechless for a long time.

It wasn't that I was shocked by their stubbornness, but rather that I felt genuine sympathy for them.

"How pitiful."

After a long pause, he finally spoke again, "I finally see clearly that you are nothing at all, just an empty shell."

"Just like a wild animal that cannot understand human behavior, but wants to become human, it clumsily and futilely imitates human actions. If you don't know what a normal human being is like, you can only futilely imitate, imitate the image of humanity you have in mind."

"You don't know what magical girls are really like; you're just constantly imitating your 'ideal magical girl.' And this imitation isn't even limited to just one object, even though these actions are contradictory to each other."

"You probably see 'salvation and protection' in one magical girl; and 'justice and cruelty' in another. It's like a wild beast with no self-awareness or intelligence, piecing these elements together haphazardly."

"You are not a magical girl, you are not human, you have no ideals, you have no past, you don't even have a 'self'. What's in front of me is just an empty shell that acts in imitation of the concept of a 'magical girl.' And inside this empty shell, there's nothing at all."

"There's not even a reason for imitation; it's just a pathetic monster devoid of anything."

Bing Bee Seven realized he completely understood the logic behind the girl's behavior and finally gave up trying to persuade her.

Since it's a monster devoid of humanity, there's no reason to show it any mercy. Just use violence to take it back.

Thinking this, he reached inside his black robe and pulled out his Beast Viscera, then gently pressed it against his heart. He began to chant:

"This is an act of eliminating traitors..."

"I'm going to kill you."

But before he could finish speaking, the girl's voice came again.

Looking to the side, one could see that Bai Jingxuan had stood up at some point. Her head was lowered, her long bangs covering her eyes, revealing only her chin and mouth, which opened and closed as she recited the words she had just spoken.

"I'm going to kill you."

Then, she repeated the sentence again.

"Boring," Bing Bee Seven commented indifferently, unconcerned by the girl's tedious words, and prepared to transform into a beast once more.

"I'm going to kill you." Bai Jingxuan seemed completely oblivious to the sounds around her, only repeating this phrase over and over.

She kept chanting and chanting, whether to escape, to emphasize, or to hypnotize herself, she didn't know. But she never stopped, and at the same time, she kept getting closer and closer to the direction of Bing Bee Seven.

When she finally reached Bing Bee Seven, she looked up again, revealing a pair of eyes that were completely unlike those of a human—eyes with sclera completely black and vertical pupils contained within their sockets.

The vertical pupils, filled with icy coldness and violent emotions, stared straight at Bing Bee Seven, trembling slightly within their sockets, brewing some unsettling emotion that made Bing Bee Seven feel a chill down her spine.

Finally, the girl spoke again.

Absolutely resolute, absolutely certain, and utterly ruthless.

I'm going to kill you.

This was also the last thing she said to Bing Bee Seven.

Larkspur set off from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau at top speed, constantly using magic to accelerate along the way, and finally arrived at the location of Lakeside Spring at the fastest speed.

The intense drain on her magic aggravated her already precarious injuries, causing her to Larkspur steadied herself by leaning against a nearby wall, and once the pain subsided slightly, she took another step and rushed into the residential area.

The gate to the residential compound was wide open, but there were no staff or pedestrians at the entrance, clearly indicating that everyone had already fled to a shelter. Inside, there were no ordinary people to be seen either, which reassured Larkspur somewhat. However, as she walked deeper into the compound, the surrounding paths gradually became fragmented, with signs of battle everywhere.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here. If I'm not mistaken, the two sides in the battle were the Special Operations Department's Third Squad and the remnants of the Black Ash Dawn they had originally intended to investigate and capture.

Considering she hadn't received any calls from the Third Squad on her way there, Larkspur was rather pessimistic about the outcome of the battle. And this prediction soon came true—she discovered the limp body of an employee lying by the roadside.

Judging from his clothing, the other person was undoubtedly an employee of the Third Squad. He was holding a weapon and had a somewhat ferocious and angry expression on his face. However, there was a huge gash on his neck, and he was completely silent.

Seeing the employee's gruesome state, Larkspur looked at him in silence for a moment, then cast a Spell Formula to protect the corpse and prevent it from being damaged further.

The situation was urgent, and this was all she could do for the moment. After protecting the employees' bodies, she still had to move forward.

As she ventured deeper, she encountered more and more corpses along the way. These weren't just those of employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau; there were even a few dressed in black robes, clearly belonging to members of the Black Ash Dawn.

She cast a barrier Spell Formula on every employee corpse she saw, while silently counting the number of corpses she saw. Only when the number was close to one-third of the entire Third Squad did she finally arrive at the square in the center of the community.

It was here that Larkspur sensed an incredibly powerful and icy magical force. If her senses were not mistaken, the source of this magical energy fluctuation should be an Aberrant Beast.

Although she has lost a considerable amount of her strength, the power she retains is still quite substantial. For her to feel any danger, the being must be at least at the Pupa Stage.

With these complex thoughts in mind, Larkspur cautiously stepped into the central square of the community. But when she got closer, the scene that came into view made her freeze in place.

Because all she had to do was look up to see the source of that powerful magic.

--It was a huge, Aberrant Beast at the Pupa Stage. It could be seen that it once had a complete Pupa Shell. The reason for saying "once" is that many of these Pupa Shells had inexplicably broken, and they could no longer completely cover the Aberrant Beast's body.

Of course, even in this state, the magic power of this Aberrant Beast should not be underestimated.

This Aberrant Beast of the Pupa Stage wasn't in its Nest, but had inexplicably appeared in this neighborhood. However, this still didn't mean it was something an ordinary magical girl could handle: for most magical girls, it remained a rather dangerous enemy.

At this moment, this enemy, which should have been quite dangerous, lay limp and powerless on the ground.

Aside from the shattered Pupa Shell, the Aberrant Beast did not seem to have suffered much damage—its limbs were intact and its shape was still relatively distinct, not like it had suffered a fatal attack.

At this moment, even its most basic vital signs appeared extremely weak. Despite still possessing powerful and abundant magic, it simply lay there quietly and helplessly.

Beside it was a figure that felt both familiar and strangely unfamiliar to the Larkspur.

A girl wearing a black and green stage dress.

The girl's dress was entirely black, almost reaching the ground, yet it maintained a slight distance. The surface of the dress was covered with many green patterns made of an unknown material. These patterns seemed insignificant from a distance, but upon closer inspection, they appeared incredibly intricate and mysterious, while also exuding an eerie aura.

Long green hair cascaded down the girl's back, reaching her waist, with slightly curled ends and a few strands of purple, which looked somewhat out of place.

The girl wore a pair of long black gloves that extended all the way to her elbows. At the front of the gloves, long, green fingernails protruded from her hands like sharp claws, making her look incredibly ferocious and terrifying.

At this moment, those fingernails pierced deeply into the body of the Aberrant Beast on the ground, slowly, slowly cutting the Aberrant Beast's body apart until it was split in two.

What does it feel like to be cleaved in two alive? The Larkspur didn't know, but judging from the trembling body of the Aberrant Beast, it must have felt terrible.

Although the Aberrant Beast's movements were extremely weak—even under the girl's alarming actions, it could only twitch slightly, indicating that it still had signs of life—the girl seemed unconcerned, mechanically continuing her cutting.

After splitting the Aberrant Beast's body in two, the girl suddenly stopped. Light green magic appeared out of thin air and was suddenly injected into the Aberrant Beast's wounds. Then, the Aberrant Beast, which had been almost cut in two, was restored to its whole form once again.

Just as the Larkspur had seen, there was no difference whatsoever.

Having done all this, the girl turned her head slightly, a somewhat pleased smile appearing on her face. Then, she reached out again and plunged her hand deep, very deep into the Aberrant Beast's body, continuing to slash.

Clearly, she has repeated this behavior many times.

The Aberrant Beast lying on the ground appeared to be in good health, simply because it had been continuously healed and its injuries restored. In reality, it had already suffered countless fatal wounds.

The girl continued to cleave the Aberrant Beast in two, leaving it barely alive, then healing it and bringing it back to life, repeating this cycle endlessly. Clearly, this was why the Aberrant Beast's resistance to pain was so weak.

Furthermore, if the Aberrant Beast had a soul, it would probably have died at the soul level, leaving only a living physical body that is constantly being healed.

Looking at the girl in the center of the square, Larkspur felt as if her throat was blocked, and for a moment she couldn't say a word.

After a long while, she finally managed to compose herself and called out, "... Bo Xue?"

The call made the girl not far away turn around.

Within the dark sclera, a pair of sharp vertical pupils stared at the Larkspur, but the girl's expression showed no ferocity or tyranny, only childlike innocence.

She looked at the Larkspur, and after a brief pause, that innocence turned into joy.

"Teacher! You've come!"

She immediately dropped the mangled Aberrant Beast she was holding, tiptoed over, and ran to the Larkspur, pointing to the Aberrant Beast lying limp on the ground behind her:

"Did you see that? I did it! I defeated the bad guys just like you! And I punished them severely! They'll never dare to do anything bad again!"

"These bad guys just told me that I don't have a mom or dad, and that I should be with them; they also said that I'm not a real magical girl, but just imitating others."

"But I'm going to tell them that I'm a magical girl, that I'll save everyone, and then punish them severely!"

She stretched out her hand, pointing to the other side of the square as if seeking praise, and looked at the Larkspur expectantly. "And over there, teacher, look!"

Following her directions, Larkspur saw a large group of employees from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau gathered in the direction Bai Jingxuan pointed. Green magic enveloped their wounds, healing their injuries and restoring their peace, as if they had fallen into a quiet sleep.

But right next to that group of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau employees, many Black Ash Dawn members were piled up, their bodies covered in fatal wounds. Blood had seeped into the ground beneath them, but they were left there like trash, completely ignored.

Heaven on one side, hell on the other – this is the scene the Larkspur saw, and such a description couldn't be more fitting.

"Hehe, I knew the teacher would come looking for me. She really does care about me."

After demonstrating everything she had done, Bai Jingxuan still seemed quite excited. As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and hugged Larkspur's arm, saying happily, "That bad person just said I don't have parents, that my mom and dad are fake, but I don't care at all, I have them now!"

"Right, teacher? You're practically my mother now, aren't you?"

She continued talking to herself, facing the Aberrant Beast that barely showed any signs of life, like a naive little girl showing off. "See? This is my mom! My mom came to save me, do you have one? You'll be so mad!"

However, upon getting closer, the Larkspur could clearly sense that the Aberrant Beast probably couldn't hear Bai Jingxuan's words.

It's already dead; only its body is still alive.

Perhaps Bai Jingxuan killed it from the very beginning, and then merely engaged in meaningless acts of venting her anger; or perhaps Bai Jingxuan's subsequent torture slowly robbed it of its life. But in any case, this Aberrant Beast was truly dead.

Larkspur looked at Bai Jingxuan again, only to see that the girl seemed to have endless things to say, still rambling on and on, explaining something, while constantly seeking her opinion, as if hoping that she could express her opinion.

She was uneasy; she hoped she would be praised.

The Larkspur realized this.

She silently looked around at the cruel yet compassionate, bloody yet sacred scene. After gazing at it for a long time, a sudden realization dawned on her.

She suddenly understood why Lin Xiaolu had said those words to her the moment the battle of the Full Moon Festival ended.

At that moment, Lin Xiaolu was clearly afraid of killing Moss herself, but she resolutely walked over, took her hand, and told her, "Go back."

Larkspur didn't know why Bai Jingxuan was doing all this, or whether there was any imitation involved, but the scene at this moment was so similar to her own back then.

She realized this, and thus understood what she should do now.

Without saying much, she simply moved closer to Bai Jingxuan, slowly opened her arms, and suddenly pulled the girl, who still seemed to be in a state of excitement, into her embrace.

Then, he reached out and gently patted the back of the girl's head.

"Let's go back," she said softly.

"Go back? Where to?" The girl, who was suddenly hugged, was clearly confused, her question filled with emptiness.

Although she was currently in Larkspur's arms, for some reason Larkspur seemed somewhat unreal, as if she might turn into wisps of smoke and drift away into an unknown distance at any moment.

That's not enough, she thought to herself.

This alone doesn't seem enough to pull Bai Jingxuan, the girl he knows, back. He needs to do something else to get her out of control.

So, what else can I do?

The answer seems obvious.

"... Go back with Mom."

She pursed her Larkspur, trying to soften her voice. She patted the girl's back gently, softly comforting her, "Let's go back to the Secret Base, let's go home."

"... Mother?"

"Um."

"Is she really my mom? Would my teacher be willing to be my mom?"

"Yes, I do."

"Does Mom want me to come back with her?"

"Mom wants you to come back with her."

Larkspur still held Bai Jingxuan tightly, as if afraid she would run away at any moment. "I'll take you with me, you come with me, let's go back to find my sister, okay?"

After those words, there was endless silence.

In the silence, the girl slightly raised her head from within the Larkspur's embrace, her heterochromatic beastly eyes meeting the Larkspur's gaze.

She looked at the Larkspur silently, puzzled, and after a short while, she suddenly laughed again, and the blackness in her sclera began to recede like a tide.

"Okay, Mom."

As she spoke, her black dress scattered like withered flowers, and the scattered black magic quickly dissipated into the air, turning into dark currents that flowed away to an unknown destination.

The black dress turned white, and the white dress became her everyday clothes. Then, the girl collapsed into the Larkspur's arms.

The Larkspur looked down and felt as if everything that had just happened was a dream, with only an ordinary-looking little girl lying quietly in her arms.

With a relaxed and at ease smile on her face, she nestled against the Larkspur without any guard, sweet and beautiful, and drifted into a deep sleep.