Beastheart Liberation

When the Larkspur arrived at the kite's location, the kite was already waiting there, fully prepared.

Instead of waiting at the foot of the stone tower, she deliberately advanced a distance and stopped the group from Fangting City before they reached the top of the mountain.

The mountains and forests here are sparsely populated, so the trees are tall and dense, shrouded in a thick veil of darkness. The ancient trees, strong and vigorous, emit a low, mournful sound as the night wind blows. But all the sounds are eventually swallowed up by the snow, leaving only deathly silence.

Behind her was a winding path, swallowed by the night, its outline barely discernible, seemingly leading to the mountaintop. The distant mountains were shrouded in dense darkness, as if blending seamlessly with the heavens and earth, indistinguishable from each other.

The kite stood there quietly, the snowflakes that occasionally fell from the treetops clung to her shoulders, staining her black robes with a touch of white.

The arrival of Larkspur and Morning Glory was not unexpected for her, after all, she had already fought with the two of them and had a general idea of their moves. Therefore, apart from the several obviously much younger children behind her, the most eye-catching figure was the one dressed in golden yellow.

"Looks like these are the new friends who came to this city before."

Her eyes brightened as she looked at Margaret and laughed heartily, "I thought I'd have a chance to sit down and have a proper talk, but it's a bit of a pity that our first meeting will be in such a setting."

"If you feel it's a pity, then don't always pick times during holidays to cause trouble, okay?"

Arriving here directly in her magical girl form, Asō Madoka, or rather Margaret, said with a forced smile, "We just boiled the hot pot broth, put in the specially purchased premium beef, and were all ready to enjoy a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner. Then we suddenly got a call saying we had to come to this godforsaken place to fight. Guess how I feel right now?"

"What, you brought hot pot beef with you?" Yuan asked, stroking her chin.

"How could that be? Of course, they abandoned their half-eaten hotpot and ran here."

Hong Siyu's expression was far from friendly, and she replied irritably, "Besides, it's already cold by the time I brought it over, so it's not tasty at all."

"It doesn't matter if it gets cold, it's still meat anyway." Yuan retorted seriously, "The meat is already cooked and coated with seasoning, temperature is just a minor detail."

"No need to stall for time. We're not going to argue with you about this pointless topic."

This time, it was Larkspur who spoke, getting straight to the point. "Where is the ceremony you mentioned taking place?"

"So eager?" Yuan clearly intended to continue chatting for a while longer, but seeing the group opposite her looking hostile, she tactfully pointed behind her. "Keep walking towards the top of the mountain. There's a fairly large open space just before you reach the summit; you'll see it there."

Upon hearing her words, the Larkspur immediately prepared to continue forward, but before it could even begin to fly, it was abruptly stopped by the kite using its Magic Armament.

In response, the Larkspur reacted swiftly, using its silk threads to slow down the kite's attack, and then leaped aside, attempting to bypass it horizontally. However, the kite's Magic Armament seemed to have eyes, blocking the Larkspur's path once again.

The two exchanged a glance; the Larkspur remained expressionless, while the kite smiled broadly.

Although neither said anything more, they both understood each other's will from their gazes.

--Larkspur was only interested in confirming whether the "ritual" mentioned by Iris existed, and had little interest in Iris, who was a human roadblock; while Iris only intended to end the battle here and had no intention of letting Larkspur and the others pass.

"You plan to hold off nine people by yourself?" Larkspur looked at the other person as if she were a madwoman. "Or is your so-called 'ritual' just a pretext to bring us here to play your martial arts game?"

"One against nine? I didn't expect there to be so many of you. It's like you've all come out in full force. But since you're already here, let me give it a try, okay?"

Despite facing a numerical disadvantage, Yuan seemed completely unhurried, saying calmly, "As for the ritual, once you can defeat me here, you'll be able to confirm whether it's real or not."

"... If there's even the slightest possibility, I actually hope this is just a lie." Looking at the kite before her, a hint of complexity flickered in the usually unchanging expression of the Larkspur, but it quickly vanished. "Because if it truly exists, it means you and our Fangting City have become true mortal enemies."

"A mortal enemy? That sounds like a serious term."

Yuan's composed smile remained, but her words carried less teasing and more seriousness. "Well, although it's not appropriate for me to say that, Cornflower, have you misunderstood me?"

She reached out and withdrew the Magic Armament that had been blocking the Larkspur's path. "Was it because I wasn't ruthless enough that you thought I was just joking? Or is it because I haven't completely defeated you yet that you think you can defeat me here if you all come together?"

"Then I'll tell you. The ritual is definitely real. It's right behind me. If you can't stop it for the next two hours, it will trigger a massive magical turbulence that will not only completely destroy this mountain and the surrounding City Barrier Network, but also spread magical fluctuations that attract Aberrant Beast."

"Once it reaches this point, a massive beast calamity will erupt near this breach, perhaps even larger than the one twenty years ago. Cities without protective barriers will be as helpless as newborn babies. You should know what's going to happen, right?"

"Now, do you know what you need to do? We've been complete enemies from the very beginning. I would never play a joke on my enemy that would harm me. Would you?"

Yuan's answer was straightforward, even somewhat cold.

Without a doubt, whatever she had thought or wanted to do before, from this moment on, she had killed all those possibilities.

Right now, standing here, blocking everyone's way, is just a cadre from Claw Mark.

So the Larkspur closed its eyes, took a deep breath, and when it opened them again, its gaze was filled with indifference.

We will stop this so-called ceremony.

She spoke, her voice icy. "If you insist on blocking my way, then I'll defeat you first, and then stop you."

"A very good realization."

Yuan chuckled twice, "However, let me give you a hint: you actually have three choices. First, after fighting me and witnessing the difference in our strength, you can obediently admit defeat and then come with me, along with the little girl in green behind you."

"Secondly, I'll skip the complicated steps altogether, which is also a way to protect your teammates. Just follow me now, and I'll naturally stop this ceremony."

"The third goal is to completely defeat me here. This time, I will go all out and will not hold back like I did last time."

She made a loose fist with one hand, raised her arm, and struck a pose as if offering a toast. "Make your choice, and it will determine the safety of the city behind you."

The Larkspur did not answer.

She merely crouched down slightly, the Magic Armament in her hands shimmering with a surging magical light.

Beside her, Hong Siyu, Margaret, and a group of new-generation magical girls all made their stances clear through their battle postures.

Their magical powers varied in strength, color, nature, and even underlying tone, but at this moment, they all shone solely for the city behind them.

"Very good."

Yuan nodded, looking extremely pleased. "That's right, a true magical girl should be like this, facing all difficulties with a crystal-clear and resilient heart... Then I should also give you the highest level of respect, the respect that belongs to me, a mere warrior."

"Be thankful, because my so-called 'no more holding back' means giving you my all. You don't need to worry about what secrets I'm hiding. Just focus on me right now. I will show my 'ultimate' right from the very beginning of the battle."

She pressed one hand to her heart, the veins in her arm turning an unusual purple bulge, and a surge of purplish-black magic erupted like a tsunami, all rushing towards her heart. "Are you ready? To face this world's first, and perhaps last, 'Ultimate Martial Apex'?"

Everything that belonged to the kite seemed to be melting away.

The jet-black Magic Armament seemed to have turned into ink mixed with water, presenting a loose and grayish appearance; the bursting magic power was like a tangible liquid, gathering into rivers; and the "person" in front of everyone, the existence of the person Yuan herself, also gradually collapsed like a melted candle, until it was no longer human.

Thump, thump, thump.

Only the sound of his heartbeat grew louder and louder, like thunder, like a mountain collapsing, like an earthquake, as if the entire mountain was beating drums for it, creating a violent tremor.

Then, the "beast" raised its head amidst the dark waves.

"Kite, the Beastheart Liberation, Hundred Weapons in Formation."

It declared this.

As the sound faded, the surrounding scenery shattered completely, like a piece of broken glass, as if space itself had turned to dust, leaving only a chilling darkness.

From the darkness, a figure emerged.

That was a kite, or rather, something that was previously a kite.

If you look at her face and features alone, she looks very similar to the one who was still here before, but she is taller and seems to have a longer body proportion.

Her jet-black hair had now turned completely gray, tied into a long single ponytail at the back. Her original Daoist robe had been replaced by a magnificent crimson feathered garment. However, this outfit did not give any impression of gentleness. Whether it was the densely packed hidden weapons at the waist, the sharp, feather-like ribbons on the hem and lapels, or even the strangely intricate patterns on the garment, everything gave off an inexplicably fierce impression.

What is most striking is her eyes. Her sclera has turned completely black, and her double pupils, which were originally like yin and yang fish, have disappeared for some reason. What remains is only a pair of white pupils, shaped like birds. Crimson patterns extend from the corners of her eyes toward her temples, forming half of her flowery face.

The process of the kite revealing its new form was very complex, but it didn't take long at all. The transformation was completed in just a few seconds. However, among the magical girls present, only the three leaders witnessed the entire process.

Because those magical girls standing at the back who hadn't reached the Blossom Rank were all overwhelmed by the immense pressure.

This pressure isn't tangible; if you had to define it, it seems to be some kind of mental power that makes even slightly weaker magical girls almost unable to face Tori. Just resisting this pressure has already consumed a lot of the girls' energy.

If the pressure they faced from behind was so immense, the three people in front certainly couldn't have been completely oblivious.

In fact, Larkspur felt as if she had been hit on the head with a blunt object, and her vision blurred; Hong Siyu coughed repeatedly and her breathing became rapid; only Margaret seemed to be unaffected, but she frowned and was obviously not feeling well either.

"This is... some kind of Flourishing Bloom?" In the end, it was Margaret who made the first judgment.

As a Flower Rank magical girl, she undoubtedly possesses her own Flourishing Bloom Form. Furthermore, having been promoted to Flower Rank for many years and possessing rich combat experience, she is naturally the one among those present who is most familiar with Flourishing Bloom.

Based on the magical fluctuations that the kite had just displayed, and the pattern of its changing form, she deduced that it seemed to be a form quite similar to the one that Flourishing Bloom.

"Flourishing Bloom? If that's how you want to understand it, then there's nothing wrong with that."

The kite, who had been standing quietly, spoke, though her body remained motionless, like a frozen sculpture. "However, because all magical girls who become Claw Mark lose their own Flourishing Bloom, strictly speaking, Beastheart Liberation is actually a substitute for Flourishing Bloom."

"An alternative?" Margaret was clearly hearing this concept for the first time.

"Yes, since I can't use the magic of a magical girl to fully unleash my abilities, I can only use the magic of Aberrant Beast to achieve this."

Yuan tilted her head slightly, but her body remained still. "In martial arts terms, perhaps it could be understood as 'practicing the wrong technique and going into qi deviation'? However, for us Claw Mark, going into qi deviation is not a bad thing; on the contrary, it has more benefits."

"I can tell."

Margaret nodded, seemingly agreeing with the other person's statement, "Then why have you been standing still since just now? Is there something wrong with this form?"

"Oh, you mean this?"

Yuan lowered her head slightly, glanced at her entire body, then raised her head and smiled slightly at Margaret.

Then, everyone noticed that Yuan's figure had suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, an attack as fast as lightning struck, arriving at Margaret's side almost the instant her words fell.

In the blink of an eye, Margaret didn't even have time to use her magic. She could only lean back slightly by instinct, and then watch helplessly as a dark Mana Beam grazed past her.

"Sorry, I'm a little rusty."

To the side, Yuan remained standing there, motionless like a statue, a smile on her face, "In this form, I'm a bit too fast. If I don't rein it in, I might fly over the top with the slightest movement."