Physical Examination

"The test results are in!"

In the private research institute of Emerald, on the outskirts of Fangting City.

The round, Fairy Doll hopped off the side of the treatment bed, clutching a small mirror in its paws, its surface adorned with strings of runes. It casually walked up to the Larkspur and lazily said:

"Well, how should I put it? The situation seems to be more complicated than I initially thought."

"Is it more complicated than you said before? What is her current condition?" Larkspur asked in a deep voice, frowning as she looked at the treatment bed not far away. Lying on the bed was Bai Jingxuan, who had just been brought in.

Several hours had passed since the sudden incident at Lakeside Spring. After the battle, Lin Yun, in his capacity as director, notified the other combat personnel of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, made proper arrangements for the wounded and the dead on the battlefield, and then took Bai Jingxuan to the Emerald Research Institute.

The purpose of the inspection, of course, was to figure out what the strange black dress was.

Larkspur had never seen Bai Jingxuan like that before. It wasn't just the change in her clothes and appearance; even her personality and magic were different from her usual state.

If you were to ask where she had seen a similar figure before, it would probably be several months ago, during her battle with "Claw Mark," a rebellious magical girl from "Claw Sparrow."

At that time, Sparrow used a combat state she called "Half-Beast Form," which caused half of her body to be covered with yellow and black stripes. At that time, the appearance of her clothing did indeed resemble that of Bai Jingxuan before.

This reminded Larkspur of what Emerald had told her before: Bai Jingxuan might be considered to have been born with "Claw Mark".

"You were right to remember what I told you and bring this child to me immediately. In fact, the definition I gave you before might not have been accurate."

As if guessing what the Larkspur was thinking, Emerald manipulated the doll to lift the mirror and present it to the Larkspur:

"This child is indeed Offsetter, but it's not a case of 'a magical girl deviating towards Aberrant Beast,' but rather 'Aberrant Beast deviating towards a magical girl.' In other words, if we're defining it based on the Magic Base Color, she's not a magical girl who has mastered the power of Aberrant Beast, but rather an Aberrant Beast whose appearance and power form are similar to a magical girl."

"... Is there any difference between the two?" Larkspur frowned even more deeply.

"The difference is significant, young man. This means the essence of life is different."

The doll shook its head. "A human who can imitate a wolf's howl, and a wolf that can speak human language. Even if they can communicate with each other, would you consider them to be similar life forms?"

The Larkspur opened its mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

"Yes, it seems you understand too."

Seeing the Larkspur's reaction, Emerald sighed as well, "There seems to be an old saying among humans, 'Those who are not of our kind are sure to have different hearts.' The Aberrant Beast are the natural enemies of humans and magical girls, and they can be said to be irreconcilable sworn enemies. And if we define it from the perspective of magical power, that child is actually an Aberrant Beast has accidentally stolen the magical girl's power, and is an extremely dangerous enemy."

"... I don't agree with that statement. She wasn't an enemy, and she didn't harm any innocent people."

Larkspur looked intently at the doll in front of her. "On the contrary, she has already saved many civilians as a magical girl."

"Calm down, young man. I'm not saying she's become our enemy."

The doll retracted the mirror from its hand. "I'm just showing you what a stranger, unaware of the inside story, would think when they discover this child's identity."

"You can try to think about it from a different perspective. If you didn't know this child, and you didn't know her true nature, how would you feel if you found out that a stranger was actually Aberrant Beast wielding the powers of a magical girl?"

"Believe me, most people will react with distance and wariness; a minority will be outright hostile."

Larkspur couldn't refute Emerald's words. She knew it was very likely true.

"Then why is that?"

She could only lower her gaze, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Why does this child possess such magic?"

"To be honest, I don't know either. But that doesn't stop me from making some guesses."

Emerald said slowly, "I've heard similar rumors before, so the most likely guess is that this is the work of Black Ash Dawn."

"... It's them again?"

"Of course it's them again. Besides them and Claw Mark, who else in this world spends all their time tinkering with the power of the Aberrant Beast?"

The doll spread its paws somewhat comically. "I should have told you that although the Black Ash Dawn is an organization that has grown and developed in the last twenty years, it was not established in the last twenty years. Its predecessor existed in the Interrealm a long time ago."

"About a hundred years ago, I heard someone from Interrealm mention that the 'Apostles' —oh, that's the old name of the Black Ash Dawn. Anyway, they were tinkering with some really new stuff. They didn't seem satisfied with just borrowing and utilizing the power of the Aberrant Beast; they wanted to go a step further—to create humans who were born with the magical properties of Aberrant Beast."

"And this desire gave rise to something called the 'Sainthood Project'."

The doll pointed to the research table not far away. "I don't know the specific details or the actual operation. After all, these guys used to be like cockroaches, only hiding in dark corners and playing disgusting tricks. However, some terms from this plan inevitably ended up on my data table."

"...'Inevitable,' oh, I see."

Larkspur squinted and nodded, mentally categorizing the word in the same way Emerald had described it. "So, what kind of noun is it?"

She didn't question the veracity of the information, because she had already heard the term "Sainthood Project" from others.

From the moment the Sainthood Project succeeded and the Holy Child was born, we had no other choice.

These are Moss's exact words from the early morning of the night of the Full Moon Festival.

At the time, Larkspur didn't understand the meaning of those words. The two were still locked in a life-or-death struggle, and she didn't have time to think about it. Unexpectedly, half a month later, she heard the same words again from Emerald.

--"'Holy Child', 'Beast Child', 'Sacrificial Child'."

Emerald recited in a flat, monotone voice. "There are no specific explanations, no related descriptions, not even any examples, just these few solitary words. But just by seeing the correspondence between these words, one can probably make some connections."

In Black Ash Dawn's understanding, the words "saint" and "beast" seem to be highly linked and connected. And the "sacrifice" in the word "Sacrificial Child" naturally evokes images of the sacrificial acts that scumbags have been secretly carrying out, thus giving off a strong smell of blood.

"You mean, Bo Xue... this child, is involved in this so-called plan?"

"But based on the information I've gathered, this child shouldn't have any connection with Black Ash Dawn," Larkspur said doubtfully. "Before this, she was just an innocent orphan."

"You'll probably have to ask her about this yourself."

Emerald pointed to Bai Jingxuan was sleeping soundly on the treatment bed. "If things are really as you say, and she underwent this change during her battle with the Black Ash Dawn, then the most likely explanation is that she learned something from those people."

Emerald's words reminded Larkspur of the Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, or rather, the Aberrant Beast's corpse, that she had seen on the battlefield before coming to the research institute. A normal Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast would not be able to leave its Nest and appear there alone, so that Aberrant Beast was most likely Beast Shifter from the Black Ash Dawn.

The other side went so far as to use their agents within the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to try and contact Bai Jingxuan at this time, hoping to learn some truth. Unfortunately, now only a fresh, mangled Aberrant Beast corpse remains, which is unlikely to provide any useful information.

"In short, this is the result of the examination. The child's current state is not 'abnormal' at all. Rather, this is how she should be behaving, so you don't need to worry about her body being subjected to any burden or harm."

The doll closed its paws, patted gently, turned around, and returned to the side of the treatment bed. "Instead of worrying about what's wrong with the child, you should think about what to do next."

"What should I do myself...?"

The Larkspur repeated the question thoughtfully, "So, do you have any suggestions?"

"Do you want advice from the Gem Scepter, or from the magical girl Emerald herself?"

"What advice would the Gem Scepter offer?"

"I would suggest you nip this potential problem in the bud. Kill the child, or send her to Research Institute as research material."

Emerald's voice sounded nonchalant, "No one can guarantee that this girl won't go astray in the future, following the same path as those traitors from Claw Mark. And if she's allowed to grow up, she'll undoubtedly be even more dangerous than them."

"That is indeed a very Gem Scepter suggestion," Larkspur nodded calmly. "Then what about a slightly more humane suggestion?"

"It's not some humane suggestion, just a basic sense of empathy from an elder towards their magical girl juniors."

The puppet stopped the treatment bed from moving, and the Emerald green voice, usually so languid, took on a rare seriousness:

"If you truly want this child to be on the right path, then you'll likely have to put in the extra effort and dedicate more energy to educating and guiding her."

"And this is destined to be a difficult path. The magical properties of the Aberrant Beast will constantly influence the child's way of thinking, making her accustomed to blood and killing; in addition, the outside world will inevitably view her with vigilance and suspicion, and there will even be misunderstandings."

"I don't think this suggestion is 'humane' because it would be extremely unfair to you. You need to think carefully about whether you really need to do this for the child."

"Or rather, do you still have the energy to do that for her, young man?"

Do I still have the energy left?

The Larkspur pondered silently. But the answer to this question didn't actually require much thought, because it was inevitably no.

Emerald's words sounded overly realistic, even somewhat cold, but every sentence was a genuine question, forcing Larkspur to seriously reflect on them.

Although there's still a misunderstanding, she already has a daughter to raise; besides, teaching three juniors as a magical girl is already quite demanding; the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is currently in dire need of rebuilding, and the director's work cannot be neglected in order to make Fangting City a safer place; next year's certification assessment is approaching, which is also something that requires prior preparation.

If he were to delve deeper into educating and guiding Bai Jingxuan, he would inevitably have to invest more time and energy in her, leaving less time for other tasks.

However, the criterion for judging this issue is not actually one's own "remaining strength".

As long as Larkspur recalls the way Bai Jingxuan looked at her in her black dress, that expectant gaze, that look of anticipation for a response, for approval, all such rational thoughts become trivial details.

She told herself that only she could do this.

It wasn't wishful thinking on her part, but rather that she could clearly sense that when Bai Jingxuan's magic revealed its beastly side, its connection to "humanity" became incredibly weak.

Having lost her parents and her ideals, the magical girl who saved her died in an accident, and her identity as a "magical girl" is also in jeopardy. Bai Jingxuan has almost no connection with her "human" side left, like a kite with a broken string, ready to drift away into the unknown at any moment.

At that time, the only thing Larkspur could do was become that "kite string." She complied with Bai Jingxuan's expectations and acknowledged the identity of "mother."

This approach might temporarily bring Bai Jingxuan back and barely maintain her connection with "humans," but it also has side effects: as long as Larkspur doesn't maintain this "kite string," this last connection will disappear.

In other words, before helping Bai Jingxuan establish new connections, Larkspur is the only person who can guide this child. Whether this child goes onto the right path or strays off course will be closely related to her.

What she was thinking about was no longer "whether to do it," but "how to do it."

However, this question is destined to have no standard answer, and it's impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions by simply speculating. Everything must be put into practice first.

After saying goodbye to Emerald, Larkspur left the research institute with Bai Jingxuan. He carried Bai Jingxuan to the car and drove her home.

It was already evening, and the dim sunlight streamed into the car through the windshield. Bai Jingxuan, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up in the back seat, which was bathed in the glow of the setting sun. She looked around in a daze, and then saw Larkspur in the front seat through the rearview mirror.

"Teacher?"

She called out in confusion at first, then, as if recalling something, asked with some oddity, "What's wrong with me?"

"You were asleep, so I drove you back," Larkspur explained calmly.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Bai Jingxuan subconsciously looked at her hands, her expression dazed. "I remember my hands seemed to have grown claws? I think I defeated the bad guys and saved everyone in the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau? Was all of this... a dream?"

"It's not a dream, it's all real."

The Larkspur's voice was clear and gentle. "It's just that you fainted in the end. You did very well, I'm proud of you."

"Is it all true?"

Bai Jingxuan was slightly taken aback, then blinked, and suddenly hesitated before saying:

"I remember calling you 'Mom,' didn't I? And then you... you admitted it?"

No one answered for a moment in the car.

The sounds of horns blaring from the street outside the car window were incessant, but they remained isolated from this space, creating a division between two worlds.

"... Yes, it's not a dream."

Larkspur gripped the steering wheel, gazing at the traffic ahead. After a long silence, a determined look finally appeared on her face, and she spoke earnestly:

"You're right, I'll be your mother from now on. Bo Xue ... no, Xiao Xuan."

This was the first time she had abandoned the code name and addressed Bai Jingxuan by her name while in her magical girl form. So after saying that, she subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror to see if Bai Jingxuan would agree with her statement.

But she never expected that what she would see through the rearview mirror was a girl's smile.

It was a smile she had never seen on the child's face since she first met him.

It wasn't a well-behaved and sensible smile, nor was it the unconscious laughter that came out during a battle. It was a joyful smile that truly belonged to a child of this age, as if something wonderful had really happened.