Fierce Battle

A magical girl's body is made of magic.

Therefore, in their transformed state, they do not possess various vital points like they do when they are human. No matter what kind of external injury they suffer, as long as their magic remains, they can recover quickly.

To truly injure a magical girl, you must damage her True Form. There are only three ways to do True Form: either wait until she runs out of magic power, attack her soul directly, or attack the Mana Source.

This was also the action that Yuan had just taken.

However, harming the Mana Source is not an easy task. After the Mana Source detaches from the Heart Gem and merges with the magical girl, it floats within the magical body in a semi-illusory state. Its existence is extremely elusive, and its location is unpredictable, making it almost impossible for a normal person to pinpoint its location.

However, in Larkspur's perception, her Mana Source seemed to have been locked down for a fleeting moment. Fortunately, her opponent did not succeed.

If she hadn't remained calm enough at the last moment to mobilize her magic power and change the location of her Mana Source under the attack of the kite, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Even so, despite being pierced through, the Aberrant Beast magic emanating from the Tang sword still caused severe damage to the Larkspur's magical body. In just a few seconds, the wound inflicted by the Tang sword turned into a huge hole, which was still spreading outwards.

The magic of the Aberrant Beast has a corrosive effect on the magic of the magical girl. Even at the level of Larkspur, this restraining relationship still exists. In addition, the strength of the magic's master, Iris, is beyond imagination, so the injuries caused are naturally particularly severe.

It was only at this point that Asō Madoka finally arrived, albeit late.

Her wand flashed and instantly transformed into a wine glass, the orange-red liquid inside glowing. With a flick of her wrist, she splashed the liquid toward the kite.

This action didn't seem threatening at first glance, but it made Yuan raise an eyebrow. She then quickly retreated to a distance of ten meters.

After she stepped back, the liquid that had spilled from the wine glass was poured onto the ground, and soon, like hot oil, it burst into flames.

Using the fire as cover, Asō Madoka quickly took the Larkspur and carried her to the back in a princess carry.

Lying in Asō Madoka's arms, Larkspur's face was pale, one hand covering her chest. The hole eroded by the Aberrant Beast's magic power was larger than her palm, and scattered blue magic particles drifted upwards from between her fingers, but she didn't even glance at them, her gaze still fixed on Yui not far away.

She was now surrounded by a group of people, including Asō Madoka and Hong Siyu, who had fought alongside her, as well as the three little ones who had quickly gathered around after seeing her injured. Everyone was keeping an eye on Yui's movements while also paying attention to the injuries of the Larkspur.

Of all the people in the group, Lin Xiaolu was clearly the most flustered.

She stood next to Asō Madoka, reaching out and pressing her hand against the empty space in Larkspur's chest. Her lips trembled, and her breathing was rapid, but her tight throat prevented her from saying anything, only letting out extremely dry sobs.

She just stared into the Larkspur's eyes, shaking her head frantically, seemingly trying to express nothing.

Larkspur could only raise her other hand and pat her arm. "Don't panic, the Mana Source isn't damaged, it just requires more magic power."

Seeing that Lin Xiaolu was still on the verge of tears and didn't believe her at all, she could only helplessly raise her head, lean close to Lin Xiaolu's ear, and whisper a few words to her.

Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened immediately.

It took her a lot of effort to catch her breath. She managed to squeeze out a few words, and asked with a slightly surprised look, "Do we really have to do this?"

"Yes, I've figured it out."

Larkspur nodded. "If everything is really as I think, then the situation is now on our side..."

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that! If you have any good plans, why not share them with me?"

However, on the other hand, Yuan didn't intend to give them a proper time to settle down.

Having finally seized this opportunity to severely injure Larkspur, she naturally wanted to consolidate her victory. So, her figure flashed through the black mist, and she charged back into the crowd, brandishing her sword.

This time, her target is Hong Siyu.

Her strategy was very simple: prioritize eliminating the three magical girls who were the main fighting force, and the order of attack was based entirely on her familiarity with them.

The reason she had been relentlessly pursuing Larkspur was because, through their previous sparring sessions, she had become more familiar with Larkspur's fighting style, was able to predict her actions to some extent, and was more likely to succeed. Her attack on Hong Siyu at this moment was also a continuation of this strategy, aiming to eliminate as many problems as possible as quickly as possible.

This time, without the help of the Larkspur, Hong Siyu was clearly at a loss in the face of this fierce attack.

At the critical moment, a rather petite dark figure rushed out from the side.

Echoing the pitch-black magic of the kite, which was also black, but mixed with green magic that radiated wildly, the girl's black dress was covered with eerie green patterns. She used her claw-like hands to deflect the kite's Tang sword.

That's Bai Jingxuan.

However, the person present was Bai Jingxuan, whom no one except Larkspur had ever seen before.

Her sclera, like the kite's, had turned completely black. Her immense magical power far surpassed that of a normal Leaf Rank magical girl. Standing opposite the kite, despite the significant height difference, her aura was not much weaker.

Her eyes were filled with murderous intent, making it almost impossible for anyone to meet her gaze.

"... So that's how it is. You're 'Bai Jingxuan'?"

However, Yuan seemed completely oblivious to this murderous intent. She simply clapped her hands with some delight and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder the boss specifically asked me to bring you along. This is really interesting!"

Bai Jingxuan completely ignored her intentions.

She silently pushed off the ground with both feet and charged forward like a wild beast that had lost its mind.

In the darkness, two masses of magic, both with a black base color, collided, and for a moment, those around them couldn't even tell which had the upper hand.

The dark green beast unleashed its magic power wildly, completely disregarding the kite's attacks. Whether its body was slashed by weapons or its magic power was weakened by the mist, it paid no heed, seemingly determined to perish together with its opponent.

This desperate fighting style, combined with equally abundant magic power, actually managed to restrain the kite for a time.

However, Yuan quickly discovered a certain pattern in this seemingly chaotic battle.

She pulled herself out of the frenzied attack, drifting like a small boat in a giant wave, and then, at an extremely tiny opening, she placed her palm on Bai Jingxuan's abdomen.

"He has great potential, but he's still too inexperienced."

That's how she described it.

Immediately afterwards, the pitch-black magic around her suddenly paused, as if it had faded in an instant, and layers of black ripples suddenly spread outwards.

A loud buzzing sound came from the phoenix's palm, and for a moment, it was as if the air itself had been shattered, with cracks spreading out from under its palm.

"Bang"!

Then, Bai Jingxuan flew away.

As if struck by some immense force out of nowhere, she was launched like a cannonball, her speed so great that it was impossible for the naked eye to perceive it.

A sharp, piercing sound swept past their ears as Bai Jingxuan's body flew through the air, seemingly about to fall off the mountain and plummet down the cliff.

Fortunately, Hong Siyu time.

He opened the notebook in his hand, and the purplish-red magic instantly formed a net in Bai Jingxuan's flight path, stopping her.

Naturally, Yuan couldn't just stand by and watch all this happen. The moment Bai Jingxuan was caught, she rushed to Hong Siyu's side again. Not only that, this time, many figures wielding different weapons also appeared in the black mist and launched an attack at the same time.

This time, it was Margaret's turn to save the day.

She timely blocked the weapon swung by the kite with her wand, and in the brief explosion, she inexplicably pressed her wand down a short distance, blocking the second attack from the black mist.

"Retreat and use firepower to hold her back!"

As she shouted, she pushed Hong Siyu back, and then her wand transformed into a goblet-shaped Magic Armament once again. As the liquid in the goblet splashed, she and Yuan engaged in a fierce battle.

All of this was imprinted in the eyes of the Larkspur.

At this moment, she had been placed next to a tree by Asō Madoka, leaning weakly against the trunk, and could only watch the battle unfold.

The hole in her chest can be repaired with magic, but it requires a huge amount of magic, so she has to reduce her movements to allow the magic to heal the injury as quickly as possible.

However, her inability to participate in combat does not mean she is helpless in the face of the current situation.

Just as she had just told Lin Xiaolu, in her view, "The situation is already on their side."

Just moments ago, in the instant she was struck by the kite's attack, she seemed to have vaguely grasped a part Flourishing Bloom the opponent's abilities.

Unlike their first encounter at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, this time Yuan didn't utter a single unnecessary word, and hasn't mentioned her abilities Beastheart Liberation.

Undoubtedly, she was also on guard against Larkspur's Magic Armament.

In their last encounter, it was precisely because Yuan easily revealed one of her core abilities, the existence of "Qi," that this ability was sealed by Larkspur, ultimately leading to her defeat. She clearly hasn't forgotten that.

That is why, until now, Larkspur has not asked Hong Siyu for assistance in using that extremely unstable second Magic Armament.

Because she had to ensure that her scissors were used only where it mattered most.

The Beastheart Liberation has demonstrated a fairly comprehensive range of abilities so far. It not only retains the ability of the Magic Armament armor to transform into a weapon, but also shows enhancements in speed, strength, magic power, and other aspects. It has even mixed with "qi" to suppress the effectiveness of its own side's abilities.

It enhances all of its own attributes while weakening the enemy's combat capabilities, making its effect quite simple and brutal.

However, knowing this is not enough.

How wide is the range of its power? How extensive is its influence? Is it really worth using the scissors? More importantly, if Larkspur wants to remove this part of its power with the scissors, it must first understand the nature of its power.

Just now, she caught that fleeting spark of inspiration.

As the sword was about to pierce her chest, she realized—it was a risk, but also an opportunity.

The opponent was extremely fast; they couldn't even touch it using normal methods, so they hadn't been able to launch an effective attack until now. However, no matter how fast it was, the kite couldn't move much at the moment of the attack.

In other words, when the kite attacks you, it is actually the best time to retaliate.

As for how to retaliate, it's actually quite simple: use the silk threads attached to your back. The silk threads attached to the Larkspur are originally meant to pull the body and assist in movement, but their function is not fixed. As long as the Larkspur moves the position of the silk threads attached to its body, it can transform from a tool to assist in movement into a weapon to damage the kite.

So, where should the connection point of the silk thread be moved to?

At that moment, Larkspur made the decision to move directly towards the location where the Mana Source was locked.

Because at that instant, the Tang sword that the kite thrust out would inevitably be heading towards that point, and no matter what, the silk thread could simultaneously cut the opponent's arm.

That's what happened in that split second, and as it turns out, her idea was right.

The moment the Tang sword pierced through her chest, the sensation transmitted through the silk thread didn't lie; the kite had been cut.

Even though this exchange was far from equal, and she suffered far more injuries and lost far more magic power than her opponent, she still managed to launch her first effective attack.

Although the thread merely made a cut and did not cause any effective damage, what was important was that she discovered something, something far more important than all the other exchanges.

For a moment, Yuan hesitated; she seemed to be considering whether or not to take the blow.

This is quite an intriguing development.

The Beastheart Liberation clearly resulted in more than just an increase in speed and magical power; even the body's physical resilience and defensive capabilities became incredibly exaggerated.

In other words, even if she were cut by the Larkspur's silk threads, she wouldn't lose too much magic power.

So, given this, why is the other party hesitating?

The Larkspur couldn't find the truth with just this much information, but it was enough.

"Margaret."

Just as she figured this out, she raised her voice and Asō Madoka, who was fighting with a kite not far away:

--"Flourishing Bloom."