Breaking Out of the Cage

Five minutes is enough time for two magical girls whose abilities have Blossoming the Leaf Rank or above to fly dozens of miles.

Although limited by their total magical energy, few magical girls would actually do this, when the Aberrant Beast attack was imminent, Cornflower and Ink Lotus rushed to the scene at their maximum speed.

What unfolded before them was a relatively well-preserved neighborhood, and in the very center of that neighborhood, a gigantic, Aberrant Beast trapped within a magical "cage."

This magical cage is City Lockdown Spell Formula of Luen Nore, suitable for many emergency situations. One of its main uses is to restrict the movement of Aberrant Beast when they appear, preventing them from causing further damage to the city. However, such a large-scale, high-intensity Spell Formula cannot be maintained for too long. So when Cornflower arrived, the surface of this magical cage was already covered with cracks and could collapse at any moment.

However, having seen this Spell Formula on Cornflower so many times, I didn't focus on the Spell Formula itself.

She stared at the Aberrant Beast, motionless as a statue, her pupils contracting slightly.

"Wow, what a huge pupa!"

Landing behind Cornflower, Nina, slightly out of breath from the exertion of magic, looked at the Aberrant Beast and instinctively shrank her shoulders. "Look, it looks a bit scary, and even more disgusting than a normal Aberrant Beast."

The fact that a magical girl would use the adjective "horrible" is enough to prove just how disturbing the appearance of an Aberrant Beast must be.

The Aberrant Beast, curled up in its cage, was entirely gray-black, with very distinct and rugged lines and grooves on its body. It had a body and limbs that resembled a human, but the proportions were slightly distorted. Its limbs were too long compared to its torso, while its head was too small.

Its body was covered in a slime of unknown composition, which continued to flow down its skin even now. The yellowish-brown liquid even stained the ground around it, turning the stone-paved road into a scorched black color.

The magical girls were watching the Aberrant Beast, and the Aberrant Beast was also watching the magical girls.

Its head, which resembled a rotten watermelon, turned slightly, its single eye emitting a rather aggressive gaze as it scanned the two magical girls in front of it. It slightly opened its maw, Cornflower could see saliva flowing from its enormous mouthparts.

It was very hungry.

The behavior of this Aberrant Beast reveals the following information.

Then the Aberrant Beast stretched out its long, slender arm, its human-like hand covering the inner wall of the magical cage. Its fingers groped and explored, finding the cracks that had already appeared.

Click, click.

It was as if it were scratching at the scabs on a wound. It used the knuckles of its claws to dig at the cracks, and a piercing sound came from them, making Nina, who was slightly weaker, turn pale.

It was a sound like someone had thrown a pile of broken glass on the ground and then repeatedly crushed it with some heavy object. The sound was a tooth-grinding mixture of friction, cracking, and collision, and it grew louder and louder until finally it turned into a short, sharp shattering sound.

The claws of the Aberrant Beast reached out from its cage.

Cornflower shielded Nina behind her.

"That's not a pupa," she said.

Although the size of the same class of Aberrant Beast may vary, generally speaking, each class of Aberrant Beast has a corresponding upper limit to its size. For the Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, this upper limit is often around 20 meters in length.

The Aberrant Beast before us has clearly exceeded this range; in fact, its length should have reached 30 meters.

"No, not a pupa?"

Nina's heart skipped a beat. The truth behind the Cornflower's words almost flashed through her mind, but she still asked, somewhat unwilling to give up, "So, it could also be a caterpillar...?"

"This is Half-Molt."

The sound of Cornflower shattered Nina's last remaining illusions.

At the same moment, it wasn't just Nina's fantasy that shattered, but also the Lockdown Spell Formula that was already at its last gasp.

Click.

The Aberrant Beast tore apart the entire Magic Barrier along the cracks dug by its claws, then staggered to its feet, its slime splattering everywhere. It wiggled its limbs slightly, as if to stretch its body, its movements utterly comical.

However, this comical situation did not make Cornflower and Nina relax in the slightest, because the Aberrant Beast's single eye remained fixed on them the entire time, like a magnet, never leaving their side.

It swung its arms, destroying the magical cage around it. Using its legs and hands, it crawled out of the shattered Spell Formula cage like an amphibian. It crouched on the ground, its four paws clasped together, like a frog, and quietly watched the two magical girls for a while.

Then, he suddenly jumped up.

"Weave Destiny!"

"Hold on, Grip of the Present!"

Almost at the same time, the two magical girls unleashed their Magic Armament.

There was no time to ponder why the Half-Molt was here, because the answer was unimportant to the two of them at the moment; surviving and killing this Aberrant Beast were their top priorities.

Normally, according to the Research Institute's recommended standards for exterminating Aberrant Beast, it takes three Blossom Rank magical girls and five or more Leaf Rank magical girls to assist in the extermination of a Half-Molt. But at this moment, there is only one Blossom Rank and one Leaf Rank girl standing here.

Therefore, there is no need, and even less possibility, to hold back. For these two magical girls, this is a formidable enemy that they must face with their full strength.

"Can you control that Aberrant Beast's movements?"

While backing away, Cornflower looked at Nina beside her and shouted, "We don't need to stop it completely, just restrain its movement, okay?"

"I can't do it!"

Nina was so frightened that tears almost streamed down her face. "I'm sorry, it's too big, and its magical power is much greater than mine. Even controlling the air around it is beyond my power!"

"What about the body parts?"

The Larkspur continued shouting, "Can't you even hold its hand still, or restrain it with one part of its body?"

"I'll give it a try!"

Nina frantically reached out and tried to grab the Aberrant Beast's arm. This action seemed to make the Aberrant Beast pause for a moment, but soon, Nina's hand, along with the Magic Armament on her hand, was jolted away as if she had been electrocuted.

"No, no, no, no! It works so much harder than I do!" Nina cried out.

"Is that not allowed?"

Cornflower, however, did not blame her.

The Aberrant Beast's attack arrived almost instantly. While using her silken threads to pull Nina away from the Aberrant Beast, she murmured thoughtfully to herself, "In that case, it can only be me."

The drifting threads swirled with the words, Cornflower, as if trying to retrieve something, reached into the swirling vortex, pulling out a small ruler as she retreated.

"Ink Lotus".

Amidst the ever-rushing street scenes, Cornflower's slightly serene voice reached Nina's ears:

"I'll count to three, and then remember to bow your head."